When I write a review this close to the start of a new year, I usually see most of the movies considered for one of the big six Oscar awards. If I don’t, I usually wait for those limited releases set for a wide release a couple of weeks later. Regardless, most people would have known of all the big-budget or Oscar-worthy movies by the time of a January 1st post. In 2020, the rules changed, and the cinema was no exception. Some big-budget movies slated to come out during the year have been tabled until the pandemic ends and will likely come out in the second half of 2021. However, the Academy has made date modifications, which means that films will be eligible for the end-of-year awards as long as they are released by February 28, 2021. I usually start watching the final one or two movies that might receive a Best Picture nomination around the start of the new year. 2020 is a different kind of beast, and this review is my first of the year of a film that will receive a nomination for that award.
Category Archives: Drama
Hope Gap (2019)
Hope Gap is another self-reminder not to watch movie trailers anymore. Had I not seen the trailer when deciding whether to see this movie, I would not have known what was to come. Of course, without the trailer, I wouldn’t have known if it would have interested me. It’s a double-edged sword, for sure. My new way of watching a non-theater trailer is watching just enough to determine an interest level. If, after 15 seconds, it looks like something I want to watch, I’ll cut off the trailer. If it takes 45 seconds, so be it. If I’m still watching by the end of the trailer, there’s a better chance than not that I won’t end up watching the movie.
Blackbird (2019)
In my two most recent reviews (Little Children, Ammonite), I sang the praises of Kate Winslet, calling her the world’s most talented movie actress over the last 25 years (1995-2020). With seven (soon to be eight with Ammonite) Oscar nominations, only Meryl Streep (11) has more during that time. I almost ventured to say she hadn’t taken on the wrong role then, but then I remembered she lent herself to the Divergent series, which I don’t fault. Though a movie like Divergent doesn’t need an actress of Winslet’s caliber to succeed, it is an opportunity to earn a lucrative payday. As a result, she can take on roles in more independent projects. With that said, I may have jumped the gun a little in my reviews of Little Children and Ammonite. I didn’t know Roger Michell’s (My Cousin Rachel, Changing Lanes) melodramatic Blackbird would soon water down her stellar filmography.
Ammonite (2020)
Ammonite, Francis Lee’s (God’s Own Country) tells the familiar of something uniting us all: the internal need to find human connection, even when we externally live a life that suggests otherwise. We often seek out other humans to fulfill some of our needs inside of us, though we often have different capacities. As I write this review during the Coronavirus pandemic, this innate truth could not be more evident. The main difference between now and the past is that we can connect with others through face-to-face video technology, phone calls, text messages, email, social media, and other platforms. But in 1840 Europe (the time and setting of Ammonite), the person had to be physically near you, outside of the occasional letter that might or may not arrive in the mail. There certainly is real-time interaction if you and the other person are in the exact location. Our connections also aren’t authentic, and we live a fabricated existence because it beats being alone. So when we can connect with someone (on whatever mutually agreed upon level), it quickly becomes something we don’t want to let go of. And that is essentially the story of Ammonite.
The Cider House Rules (1999)
The best part of The Cider House Rules, the 1999 film by director Lasse Hallström (An Unfinished Life, Chocolat), is the sweet, uplifting score from composer Rachel Portman. When a movie’s score is the best thing you can say about it, that’s not always a good thing. That said, some excellent movie scores help make a good movie great or a great film near perfect. Examples that come to mind include Jaws, Rocky, Sicario, Jurassic Park, The Last of the Mohicans, Drive, The Social Network, Halloween, Far and Away, The Empire Strikes Back, and Braveheart, to name a few. Each is a movie I would consider, at worst, a B+ movie. Though a lower score likely wouldn’t change my impression of any of these films, one of the first three or four things that come to mind is the score. When I think of The Cider House Rules, I immediately think of Portman’s beautiful, Oscar-nominated score. However, unlike the movies above, its great score doesn’t make it great. An A+ score probably takes this C+/B- movie up to a B.